System and method for effectively transmitting content items to electronic devices

ABSTRACT

A system and method for effectively transmitting content items to electronic devices includes a content server that is configured to access and store various types of content information. A recommendation engine of the content server analyzes network statistics and client profiles to identify appropriate content items for device users of the electronic devices. A transmitter receives the targeted content items from the content server, and responsively provides the content items to the electronic devices by broadcasting the content items over a unidirectional telecommunications link.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/217,808 filed on Jul. 9, 2008.

BACKGROUND SECTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to techniques for managing electronicinformation, and relates more particularly to a system and method foreffectively transmitting content items to electronic devices.

2. Description of the Background Art

Implementing effective methods for providing appropriate electroniccontent is a significant consideration for designers and manufacturersof contemporary electronic devices. However, effectively providingcontent utilized by electronic devices may create substantial challengesfor system designers. For example, enhanced demands for increased devicefunctionality and performance may require more system processing powerand require additional software resources. An increase in processing orsoftware requirements may also result in a corresponding detrimentaleconomic impact due to increased production costs and operationalinefficiencies.

Furthermore, enhanced device capability to perform various advanced datamanagement operations may provide additional benefits to a system user,but may also place increased demands on the control and management ofvarious system components. For example, an enhanced electronic networkdevice that effectively manages electronic content may benefit from aneffective implementation because of the large amount and complexity ofthe digital data involved.

Due to growing demands on system resources and substantially increasingdata magnitudes, it is apparent that developing new techniques forproviding content to electronic devices is a matter of concern forrelated electronic technologies. Therefore, for all the foregoingreasons, developing effective techniques for providing content remains asignificant consideration for designers, manufacturers, and users ofcontemporary electronic devices.

SUMMARY

In accordance with the present invention, a system for effectivelytransmitting content items to electronic devices is disclosed. In oneembodiment, a content distribution system advantageously supports acontent transmission procedure that automatically provides various typesof appropriate content items for utilization by a device users of theelectronic devices. For example, the content items may include, but arenot limited to, relevant information such as current news, weather,traffic, sports, financial information, audio/video clips, program guideinformation, and information from Internet websites.

In certain embodiments, the content server analyzes network statisticsand client profiles corresponding to users of computers in a distributedelectronic network (such as the Internet). The content server thenautomatically provides recommended content items to a transmitter whichresponsively transmits the content items to one or more electronicdevices via a unidirectional transmission link. A device user of anelectronic device may thus utilize the content items to simulate anInternet experience without having an actual bi-directional Internetconnection.

In certain embodiments, the content server collects various specifiedtypes of network statistics corresponding to users of computers in theelectronic network. For example, in certain embodiments, the networkstatistics may include, but are not limited to, network browsingstatistics. The content server also compiles client profilescorresponding to device users of the electronic devices by utilizing anyeffective techniques. For example, the client profiles may includeinformation manually supplied by the device users. The content servermay also automatically populate the client profiles by analyzing anyappropriate information (including the foregoing network statistics).

A recommendation engine of the content server analyzes relevant data(potentially including the network statistics and the client profiles)by utilizing any effective techniques. The recommendation engine thengenerates one or more recommendation lists of appropriate content itemsfor transmitting to targeted ones of the electronic devices. The contentserver accesses and sends the recommended content items to thetransmitter which performs a unidirectional broadcast procedure totransmit the received content items to one or more of the electronicdevices.

Content managers of the electronic devices may determine whether toaccept the received content items according to any appropriate criteria.For example, device users may specify certain acceptance criteria byprogramming corresponding user preferences. If the content managersaccept the transmitted content items, then the electronic devices maylocally store the content items for appropriate utilization by deviceusers. The content managers may also determine whether one or morelocally-stored content items are obsolete or no longer required. Thecontent managers may then automatically delete any unwanted or out-datedcontent items from local memory. For at least the foregoing reasons, thepresent invention therefore provides an improved system and method foreffectively transmitting content items to electronic devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a content distribution system, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for one embodiment of the content server ofFIG. 1, in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram for one embodiment of the server memory ofFIG. 2, in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram for one embodiment of the recommendationengine of FIG. 3, in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram for one embodiment of the electronic devicefrom FIG. 1, in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram for one embodiment of the device memory ofFIG. 5, in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram for one embodiment of a client profile fromFIG. 3, in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a diagram for one embodiment of a recommendation list fromFIG. 4, in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a diagram for one embodiment of content items, in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of method steps for performing a contenttransmission procedure, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of method steps for performing a contentreception procedure, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to an improvement in electronicinformation management techniques. The following description ispresented to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use theinvention, and is provided in the context of a patent application andits requirements. Various modifications to the disclosed embodimentswill be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the genericprinciples herein may be applied to other embodiments. Therefore, thepresent invention is not intended to be limited to the embodimentsshown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with theprinciples and features described herein.

The present invention comprises a system and method for effectivelytransmitting content items to electronic devices, and includes a contentserver that is configured to access and store various types of contentinformation. A recommendation engine of the content server analyzesnetwork statistics and client profiles to identify appropriate contentitems for device users of the electronic devices. A transmitter receivesthe targeted content items from the content server, and responsivelyprovides the content items to the electronic devices by broadcasting thecontent items over a unidirectional telecommunications link.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a block diagram of a content distributionsystem 110 is shown, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. In the FIG. 1 embodiment, content distribution system 110 mayinclude, but is not limited to, an electronic network 114, a contentserver 118, a transmitter 116, an electronic device 126, and a computer120. In alternate embodiments, content distribution system 110 may beimplemented by utilizing components and configurations in addition to,or instead of, certain of those components and configurations discussedin conjunction with the FIG. 1 embodiment. For example, for purposes ofillustration, a single electronic device 126 is shown in FIG. 1.However, in actual practice, principles of the disclosed invention mayreadily be performed with any number of different electronic devices126. Furthermore, network 114 typically includes a substantial number ofadditional computers 120.

In accordance with the present invention, content distribution system110 advantageously supports a content transmission procedure thatautomatically provides various types of appropriate content items forutilization by a device user of electronic device 126. For example, thecontent items may include, but are not limited to, relevant informationsuch as current news, weather, traffic, sports, financial information,audio/video clips, program guide information, and information fromInternet websites.

In certain embodiments, content server 118 analyzes network statisticsand client profiles corresponding to users of computers 120 in network114. Content server 118 then automatically provides recommended contentitems to transmitter 116 which responsively transmits the content itemsto one or more electronic devices 126 via a unidirectional transmissionlink. A device user of electronic device 126 may thus utilize thecontent items to simulate an Internet-like experience without having anactual bi-directional Internet connection.

Electronic device 120 may therefore conserve significant operating powerthrough performing only receive functions, and by not having to performpower-consuming transmit functions. Furthermore, in physical locationswhere a wireless connection is not adequate for satisfactory signalreception, content items previously received by electronic device 126may still be utilized by the device user. In addition, a singletransmission from transmitter 116 may efficiently be utilized totransfer multiple appropriate content items to many different electronicdevices 126 simultaneously. In certain embodiments, transmitter 116 maybroadcast different sets of content items on different transmissionchannels. Further details regarding the implementation and utilizationof the FIG. 1 content distribution system 110 are discussed below inconjunction with FIGS. 2-11.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a block diagram for one embodiment of the FIG.1 content server 118 is shown, in accordance with the present invention.In the FIG. 2 embodiment, content server 118 includes, but is notlimited to, a server central processing unit (server CPU) 212, a serverdisplay 216, a server memory 220, and one or more server input/outputinterface(s) (server I/O interface(s)) 224. The foregoing components ofcontent server 118 may be coupled to, and communicate through, a serverbus 228. In alternate embodiments, content server 118 may alternately beimplemented using components and configurations in addition to, orinstead of, certain of those components and configurations discussed inconjunction with the FIG. 2 embodiment. Furthermore, in certainembodiments, there may be multiple instances of content server 118 incontent distribution system 110 (FIG. 1).

In the FIG. 2 embodiment, server CPU 212 may be implemented to includeany appropriate and compatible microprocessor device that preferablyexecutes software instructions to thereby control and manage theoperation of content server 118. The FIG. 2 server display 216 mayinclude any effective type of display technology including acathode-ray-tube monitor or a liquid-crystal display device with anappropriate screen for displaying various information to a server user.In the FIG. 2 embodiment, server memory 220 may be implemented toinclude any combination of desired storage devices, including, but notlimited to, read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), andvarious types of non-volatile memory, such as floppy disks, memorysticks, compact disks, or hard disks. The contents and functionality ofserver memory 220 are further discussed below in conjunction with FIG.3.

In the FIG. 2 embodiment, server I/O interface(s) 224 may include one ormore input and/or output interfaces to receive and/or transmit anyrequired types of information by content server 118. Server I/Ointerface(s) 224 may include one or more means for allowing a serveruser to communicate with content server 118. The implementation andutilization of content server 118 is further discussed below inconjunction with FIGS. 3-4 and 10.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a block diagram for one embodiment of the FIG.2 server memory 220 is shown, in accordance with the present invention.In the FIG. 3 embodiment, server memory 220 may include, but is notlimited to, a server application 312, a server operating system 316, acontent database 320, a profile manager 324, client profiles 328, arecommendation engine 332, information links 336, and miscellaneousinformation. In alternate embodiments, server memory 220 may includevarious other components and functionalities in addition to, or insteadof, certain those components and functionalities discussed inconjunction with the FIG. 3 embodiment.

In the FIG. 3 embodiment, server application 312 may include programinstructions that are preferably executed by server CPU 212 (FIG. 2) toperform various functions and operations for content server 118. Theparticular nature and functionality of server application 312 typicallyvaries depending upon factors such as the specific type and particularfunctionality of the corresponding content server 118. Server operatingsystem 316 may perform various low-level functions for content server118.

In the FIG. 3 embodiment, content database 320 may include anyappropriate type of content items or other information received byserver application 312 from content provider 114 (FIG. 1) or otherappropriate entity. For example, in certain embodiments, contentdatabase 320 may include, but is not limited to, any types ofentertainment programming, movies, video data, audio data, digitalphotographs, still image data, graphics, web pages, program guideinformation, and various types of software programs, etc.

In the FIG. 3 embodiment, profile manager 324 may be utilized to compileand analyze client profiles 328 that each include informationcorresponding to the client users of respective electronic devices 126(FIG. 1). In certain embodiments, profile manager 324 may analyzevarious types of browsing statistics of users of computers 120 innetwork 114 (FIG. 1) to automatically populate client profiles 328.Alternately, users of computers 120 in network 114 may manually enterappropriate information in corresponding client profiles 328. Oneembodiment of an exemplary client profile 328 is further discussed belowin conjunction with FIG. 7.

In the FIG. 3 embodiment, recommendation engine 332 may be utilized toanalyze various types of pre-defined ranking criteria to createrecommendation lists for downloading specific appropriate content itemsfrom content database 320 to appropriate electronic devices 126.Additional details regarding the operation and implementation ofrecommendation engine 332 are further discussed below in conjunctionwith FIGS. 4 and 8. In the FIG. 3 embodiment, information links 336 mayinclude connection information for obtaining other content items innetwork 114 (FIG. 1). Miscellaneous information 340 may include anyappropriate information or data that is required by content server 118.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a diagram for one embodiment of the FIG. 3recommendation engine 332 is shown, in accordance with the presentinvention. In the FIG. 4 embodiment, recommendation engine 332 mayinclude, but is not limited to, a ranking manager 412, one or morerecommendation lists 416, a statistics module 424, and networkstatistics 428. In alternate embodiments, recommendation engine 332 mayinclude other elements and configurations in addition to, or instead of,certain of those elements and configurations discussed in conjunctionwith the FIG. 4 embodiment.

In the FIG. 4 embodiment, recommendation engine 332 may utilize aranking manager 412 for analyzing various relevant types of pre-definedranking criteria regarding a device user of a given electronic device126 (FIG. 1) to thereby generate corresponding one of the recommendationlists 416. For example, ranking manager 412 may generate arecommendation list 416 for a given electronic device 126 by analyzingclient attributes from a corresponding client profile 328 (FIG. 3). Oneembodiment for implementing a recommendation list 416 is furtherdiscussed below in conjunction with FIG. 8.

In the FIG. 4 embodiment, recommendation engine 332 may utilize astatistics module 424 for monitoring and compiling network statistics428 that reflect any appropriate information and characteristics ofcomputers or computer users in network 114 (FIG. 1). For example,network statistics 428 may include any desired type of statisticalinformation regarding Internet browsing habits of computer users innetwork 114. In the FIG. 4 embodiment, statistics 428 may be collectedfor each electronic device 126, and may include, but are not limited to,content download frequency, downloaded content types, transferredcontent titles, and any other relevant statistical transfer patterns orinformation. The functionality and utilization of recommendation engine332 are further discussed below in conjunction with FIGS. 8 and 10.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a block diagram for one embodiment of the FIG.1 electronic device 126 is shown, in accordance with the presentinvention. In the FIG. 5 embodiment, electronic device 126 may include,but is not limited to, a device central processing unit (device CPU)512, a receiver 514, a device display 516, a device memory 520, and oneor more device input/output interface(s) (device I/O interface(s)) 524.The foregoing components of electronic device 126 may be coupled to, andcommunicate through, a device bus 528.

In alternate embodiments, electronic device 126 may readily beimplemented using various components and configurations in addition to,or instead of, certain of those components and configurations discussedin conjunction with the FIG. 5 embodiment. Furthermore, in the FIG. 5embodiment, electronic device 126 may be implemented as any type ofappropriate electronic device. For example, in certain embodiments,electronic device 126 may be implemented as any type of stationary orportable electronic device, such as a personal computer, a cellulartelephone, a settop box, an audio-visual entertainment device, or apersonal digital assistant (PDA).

In the FIG. 5 embodiment, device CPU 512 may be implemented to includeany appropriate and compatible microprocessor device that preferablyexecutes software instructions to thereby control and manage theoperation of electronic devices 126. In the FIG. 5 embodiment, receiver514 may include any appropriate means for receiving content items andother information from transmitter 116 (FIG. 1). In certain embodiments,receiver 514 is economically implemented as a wireless receiver devicethat does not include a corresponding transmitter device.

The FIG. 5 device display 516 may include any effective type of displaytechnology including a cathode-ray-tube monitor or a liquid-crystaldisplay device with an appropriate screen for displaying variousinformation to a device user. In the FIG. 5 embodiment, device memory520 may be implemented to include any combination of desired storagedevices, including, but not limited to, read-only memory (ROM),random-access memory (RAM), and various types of non-volatile memory,such as floppy disks, memory sticks, compact disks, or hard disks. Thecontents and functionality of device memory 520 are further discussedbelow in conjunction with FIG. 6.

In the FIG. 5 embodiment, device I/O interface(s) 524 may include one ormore input and/or output interfaces to receive and/or transmit anyrequired types of information by electronic device 126. Device I/Ointerface(s) 524 may include one or more means for allowing a deviceuser to communicate with other entities in content distribution system110 (FIG. 1). For example, the foregoing means may include a keyboarddevice, a wireless remote-control device, a speech-recognition modulewith corresponding microphone, a graphical user interface withtouch-screen capability, a hand-held device controller unit, or aselection button array mounted externally on electronic device 126. Theimplementation and utilization of electronic device 126 are furtherdiscussed below in conjunction with FIGS. 6 and 11.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a block diagram for one embodiment of the FIG.5 device memory 520 is shown, in accordance with the present invention.In the FIG. 6 embodiment, device memory 520 includes, but is not limitedto, a device application 612, a content manager 616, content items 618,an interface module 620, and miscellaneous information. In alternateembodiments, device memory 520 may include various other components andfunctionalities in addition to, or instead of, certain of thosecomponents and functionalities discussed in conjunction with the FIG. 6embodiment.

In the FIG. 6 embodiment, device application 612 may include programinstructions that are preferably executed by a device CPU 512 (FIG. 5)to perform various functions and operations for a electronic device 126.The particular nature and functionality of device application 612typically varies depending upon factors such as the specific type andparticular functionality of the corresponding electronic device 126.

In the FIG. 6 embodiment, content manager 616 may perform appropriateprocedures for receiving and managing content items by utilizing anyappropriate techniques. For example, content manager may perform contentdownload procedures to automatically receive, evaluate, update, andlocally store content items from content server 118 as content items618. In the FIG. 6 embodiment, interface module 620 may be utilized by aparticular electronic device 126 to directly interface and handledifferent formats of content items 618. The utilization and operation ofelectronic device 126 is further discussed below in conjunction withFIG. 10.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a block diagram for one embodiment of a FIG. 3client profile 328 is shown, in accordance with the present invention.In the FIG. 7 embodiment, client profile 328 includes, but is notlimited to, a transaction history 712, demographic information 716,browsing habits 718, and miscellaneous information 724. In alternateembodiments, client profile 328 may include other components andinformation in addition to, or instead of, certain of those componentsand information discussed in conjunction with the FIG. 7 embodiment.

In the FIG. 7 embodiment, transaction history 712 may include anyinformation about content item downloads from content server 118 to agiven electronic device 126. For example, transaction history 712 mayinclude, but is not limited to, content types, content titles, downloadfrequency, download dates, download times, and content price. Inaddition, the FIG. 7 client profile 328 may include any desired type ofdemographic information 716 regarding a corresponding device user. Forexample, demographic information 716 may include, but is not limited to,a client age, a client gender, a client location, a client ethnicity, aclient marital status, client family information, a client annual incomebracket, a client occupation, client hobbies, client interests, and aclient political affiliation.

In the FIG. 7 embodiment, client profile 328 may include any appropriateinformation regarding the browsing habits 718 of a particular computeruser when searching or viewing information on the Internet or otherinformation source via a corresponding computer 120. In the FIG. 7embodiment, client profile 328 may also include any other desired typeof miscellaneous profile information 724. For example, client profile328 may be implemented to include various types of information about thehardware and/or software configurations and capabilities of acorresponding electronic device 126. Further details regarding theutilization of client profiles 328 are further discussed below inconjunction with FIG. 10.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a diagram for one embodiment of a FIG. 4recommendation list 416 is shown, in accordance with the presentinvention. In the FIG. 8 embodiment, recommendation list 416 includes,but is not limited to, a ranked series of candidates 824 that eachrepresent a different content item from content database 320 of contentserver 118 (FIG. 1). In alternate embodiments, recommendation list 416may include other components and information in addition to, or insteadof, certain of those components and information discussed in conjunctionwith the FIG. 8 embodiment.

In the FIG. 8 embodiment, recommendation list 416 includes a candidate A824(a) through a candidate N 824(c) that each has a correspondingcontent title and content score. For example, the FIG. 8 candidate A824(a) includes a content A title and a content A score of 85%. In theFIG. 8 embodiment, candidate A 824(a) is therefore the optimalindividual candidate based upon the highest content score. In alternateembodiments, particular content items may be identified by any otherappropriate content item designation. For example, content items may beidentified by a content identification number. In addition, in certainembodiments, ranking indicators for the transfer candidates 824 may beimplemented in any other effective manner. For example, a numericalmerit indicator other than a percentage may alternately be utilized.

In the FIG. 8 embodiment, a ranking manager 412 of recommendation engine332 (FIG. 4) calculates the content scores to generate the rankedindividual recommendation list 416 by analyzing any appropriate types ofinformation. For example, ranking manager 412 may generate an individualrecommendation list 416 for a given electronic device 126 by analyzingpre-determined ranking criteria that may include device user attributesand electronic device characteristics from a corresponding clientprofile 328 (FIG. 7).

Furthermore, ranking manager 412 may analyze the predetermined rankingcriteria by utilizing any effective techniques and procedures. Forexample, in certain embodiments, ranking manager 412 may perform aweighted averaging of the different ranking factors from the rankingcriteria to determine a cost function that represents the likelihood ofselecting and paying for the downloaded content item by a device user.Each of the various ranking factors may be associated with a differentweighting value that represents the approximate significance of thecorresponding ranking factor. The generation and utilization ofrecommendation lists 416 are further discussed below in conjunction withFIG. 10.

Referring now to FIG. 9, a block diagram for one embodiment of the FIG.6 content items 618 is shown, in accordance with the present invention.In the FIG. 9 embodiment, content items 618 includes, but is not limitedto, news data 912, weather data 916, traffic data 920, audio/video data924, program guide data 928, website data 932, and miscellaneous data936. In the FIG. 9 embodiment, content items 618 are presented forpurposes of illustration. In alternate embodiments, electronic device126 may utilize content items 618 that include elements and informationin addition to, or instead of, certain of those elements and informationdiscussed in conjunction with the FIG. 9 embodiment.

In the FIG. 9 embodiment, news data 912 may include any appropriateworld, regional, or local news information that is provided by contentserver 118. Similarly, weather data 916 and traffic data 920 may includecurrent information regarding weather and traffic conditions from anyspecified location. In the FIG. 9 embodiment, audio/video data 924 mayinclude various types of audio and/or video clips. Program guide data928 may include current information regarding entertainment programmingschedules. Website data 932 may include cached copies of Internetwebsites. Miscellaneous data 936 may include any additional informationfor utilization by electronic device 126 The transmission and receptionof content items 618 is further discussed below in conjunction withFIGS. 10-11.

Referring now to FIG. 10, a flowchart of method steps for performing acontent transmission procedure is shown, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. The FIG. 10 flowchart is presentedfor purposes of illustration, and in alternate embodiments, the presentinvention may utilize steps and sequences other than those steps andsequences discussed in conjunction with the FIG. 10 embodiment.

In the FIG. 10 embodiment, in step 1042, content server 118 collectsvarious specified types of network statistics 428 corresponding to usersof computers 120 in an electronic network 114. For example, in certainembodiments, the network statistics 428 may include, but are not limitedto, network browsing statistics. In step 1048, content server 118compiles client profiles 328 corresponding to device users of electronicdevices 126 by utilizing any effective techniques. For example, clientprofiles 328 may include information manually supplied by the deviceusers, and/or content server 118 may automatically populate clientprofiles 328 by analyzing any appropriate information (including networkstatistics 428).

In step 1052, a recommendation engine 332 of content server 118 analyzesrelevant data (potentially including network statistics 428 and clientprofiles 328) by utilizing any effective techniques. In step 1056,recommendation engine 332 then generates one or more recommendationlists 416 of appropriate content items 618 to transmit to target ones ofthe electronic devices 126. In step 1060, content server 118 accessesand sends the recommended content items 618 to a transmitter 116.Finally, in step 1064, transmitter 116 performs a unidirectionalbroadcast procedure to transmit the received content items 618 to one ormore of the electronic devices 126. The FIG. 10 content transmissionprocedure may then terminate.

Referring now to FIG. 11, a flowchart of method steps for performing acontent reception procedure is shown, in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention. The FIG. 11 flowchart is presented forpurposes of illustration, and in alternate embodiments, the presentinvention may utilize steps and sequences other than those steps andsequences discussed in conjunction with the FIG. 11 embodiment.

In the FIG. 11 embodiment, in step 1114, an electronic device 126receives content items 618 that were broadcast from a transmitter 116(FIG. 1). In step 1118, a content manager 616 determines whether toaccept the received content items 618 according to any appropriatecriteria. For example, a device user may specific certain acceptancecriteria by programming corresponding user preferences. If contentmanager 616 accepts the transmitted content items 618, then in step1122, content manager 1122 may locally store the content items 618 forappropriate utilization by a device user.

In step 1126, content manager 616 may determine whether one or morestored content items 618 are obsolete or no longer required. In step1130, content manager 616 automatically deletes any unwanted orout-dated content items 618 from local memory. The FIG. 11 contentreception procedure may then return to step 1114 to receive and manageany additional transmitted content items 618. The present invention thusallows a device user to simulate an Internet experience withoutrequiring a bi-directional Internet connection.

In certain embodiments, content manager 616 and an interface manager 620may enhance user interactivity by providing an information window thatcatalogues and navigates through currently available content items.Furthermore, if a device user requests certain functionality or contentthat is not available for any reason, content manager 616 and/orinterface manager 620 may intelligently indicate that the user requestcannot be serviced, and offer one or more alternatives (such as an olderor similar version). For at least the foregoing reasons, the presentinvention therefore provides an improved system and method foreffectively transmitting content items to electronic devices.

The invention has been explained above with reference to certainembodiments. Other embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in theart in light of this disclosure. For example, the present invention mayreadily be implemented using certain configurations and techniques otherthan those described in the specific embodiments above. Additionally,the present invention may effectively be used in conjunction withsystems other than those described above. Therefore, these and othervariations upon the discussed embodiments are intended to be covered bythe present invention, which is limited only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A content server for supporting a contentdistribution in an electronic network comprising one or more computersassociated with a user, said content server comprising: at least oneprocessor operable to: determine usage of said one or more computers;analyze network statistics associated with said one or more computersbased on said determined usage; select a content based on said analyzednetwork statistics; and transmit said selected content to an electronicdevice associated with said user, through a unidirectionaltelecommunication link.
 2. The content server of claim 1, wherein saidcontent comprises one or more of: news data, traffic data, weather data,image data, audio/video data, program guide data, software data, and/orInternet website data.
 3. The content server of claim 1, wherein saidnetwork statistics comprise Internet browsing statistics.
 4. The contentserver of claim 1, wherein said at least one processor is operable toselect said content based on a client profile associated with saidelectronic device.
 5. The content server of claim 4, wherein said atleast one processor is operable to automatically create said clientprofile based on said analyzed network statistics.
 6. The content serverof claim 4, wherein said client profile is manually created by saiduser.
 7. The content server of claim 4, wherein said client profilecomprises demographic information corresponding to said user.
 8. Thecontent server of claim 7, wherein said demographic informationcomprises one or more of: a user age, a user gender, a user location, auser ethnicity, a user marital status, user family information, a userannual income bracket, user occupation, user hobbies, user interests,and/or a user political affiliation.
 9. The content server of claim 1,wherein said at least one processor is operable to select said contentfrom a plurality of content items stored in a content database.
 10. Thecontent server of claim 9, wherein said content database stores a clientprofile associated with said electronic device.
 11. A method forsupporting a content distribution in an electronic network comprisingone or more computers associated with a user, said method comprising:determining usage of said one or more computers; analyzing networkstatistics associated with said one or more computers based on saiddetermined usage; selecting a content based on said analyzed networkstatistics and a client profile; and transmitting said selected contentto an electronic device associated with said user, through aunidirectional telecommunication link.
 12. The method of claim 11,wherein said content and said client profile are stored in a contentdatabase.
 13. An electronic device for supporting a content reception inan electronic network comprising one or more computers associated with auser, said electronic device comprising: at least one processor operableto: receive a content from a content server through a unidirectionaltelecommunication link, wherein said content server selects said contentbased on usage of said one or more computers and wherein said electronicdevice is associated with said user.
 14. The electronic device of claim13, wherein said electronic device is a portable wireless device. 15.The electronic device of claim 13, wherein said at least one processoris operable to receive said content from said content server through atransmitter.
 16. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein saidtransmitter is a radio-frequency television broadcasting transmitter 17.The electronic device of claim 15, wherein said at least one processoris operable to receive said content through said unidirectionaltelecommunication link between said transmitter and said electronicdevice.
 18. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein said electronicdevice is implemented without a wireless transmission capability. 19.The electronic device of claim 13, wherein said at least one processoris operable to determine whether to accept said received content basedupon content acceptance criteria.
 20. The electronic device of claim 19,wherein said content acceptance criteria are manually programmed as auser preference by said user.
 21. The electronic device of claim 13,wherein said at least one processor is operable to locally store saidreceived content and determine whether said locally-stored content isobsolete.
 22. The electronic device of claim 21, wherein said at leastone processor is operable to periodically delete said obsoletelocally-stored content.
 23. The electronic device of claim 13, whereinsaid at least one processor is operable to present an information windowinterface to said user for cataloguing and navigating said receivedcontent.
 24. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein said at leastone processor is operable to indicate to said user that requestedfunctionalities are unavailable.
 25. The electronic device of claim 24,wherein said at least one processor is operable to offer said user oneor more alternative functionalities when said requested functionalitiesare unavailable.